Coming Dawn
by Kimberwick
Summary: In an era of revolution there is a clear divide between the clan cats of Whisper Clan, Creek Clan, Whirl Clan, and Dusk clan. For some tradition is above all else. In this age, prejudice and hate begin to bloom instead of reform and change. Yes, change does set in place... But it is the kind of change which sends Dawnkit's new life to a screeching halt.
1. Chapter 1: Last Stand

"They're coming..." Featherdust frantically burst into Blazestar's den, her eyes wide with terror.

"Th-They're coming _now_." She spilt out in half sobs. This immediately roused Blazestar to his paws, because who could sit by while their love cried. He wanted to comfort the love of his life, and he wanted to hold her close, but what if anyone walked in? What if someone saw? He decided then and there he didn't care. This was going to be their kit; the world would see soon enough.

"What should we do?" Tears pinched at the edges of her beautiful sapphire eyes. "I've been hiding this secret for so long... We can't keep them... What will we-" Blazestar didn't have much control over the situation, but he did know one thing. He stepped over gently and pressed his muzzle into her soft neck to calm her.

"We are keeping them. The clan will understand. The leader's word is law, remember?" Blazestar's voice was so decided, Featherdust was still unsure. "It's about time for change."

As of late there had been talk that the cats of their clan were unhappy with their leader. Too young, they said, too indecisive. Always wanting change and reform. Blazestar had realized he could never make every single clan cat happy, even with all his benevolence. In recent moons there had been talk from Blazestar of change to the warrior code. Featherdust was sure it had something to do with their relationship, but it wasn't the deciding factor

The main factor was that the code was written years ago by cats who had held plenty of prejudice in their heart. It was only as in recent years that the clans even accepted rogues. When Blazestar began to spread his ideas the clan cats had become indifferent and unhappy. Though Blazestar continued to reassure her that they would turn around.

 _Change was inevitable_ , he said to her often. She supposed he was right.

"But what if they don't-"

"They will..." He nuzzled her cheek gently. "The code is so old fashioned... It's about time there were changes... Like the bit about medicine cats sworn to a life of solitude. It's not right." He still saw the fear those wavering sapphire eyes and sighed deeply. "Remember what I told you when I first saw you, crying under that willow tree? All those moons ago when you thought the world had been coming down." Blazestar's voice grew rusty with emotion and memory.

"You do not need to do this alone." Featherdust answered easily, because it was a phrase Blazestar often used when Featherdust fell into a depressive episode. "Though the world feels dark and cold know it won't feel that way for ever… I'll be here to melt that away… Even if just for the night." It was those very words that had been a crutch to Featherdust and they kept her going.

"Perhaps you are right..." Though the words that came out were still strangled with doubt. _What if, what if, what if._ Those words haunted her every day, more now than ever. He smiled and nodded toward the entrance, because the kits were most certainly on their way.

The pain in her swelling belly was extraordinary as she took her first steps toward the nursery. Featherdust didn't know if she would make it in time, but after a few labored, encouraged steps she did.

Once inside Featherdust barely had room to breathe, everything inside felt constricted and suffocated. She flopped over heaving as if she had run in from a fox. The queens, who were currently in the nursery, watched her in shock. It didn't take long before they all quickly jumped into action after they realized what was happening. Blazestar had disappeared, but quickly reappeared with Hollyberry, Featherdust's apprentice, in tow.

Hollyberry was a jet black she-cat with a pair of piercing green eyes, that turned onto Featherdust as soon as she walked in. They were filled with disgust and disappointment, but she did not say a word, much to Featherdust's relief. She set to work setting up the herbs and shoving some towards Featherdust. Then Hollyberry began to order Blazestar and the queens, giving them orders to bring her specific herbs.

The entire kitting process took from midnight to dawn and throughout that entire time period Featherdust on multiple occasions believed she was actually going to die. There were a million reasons for Featherdust to rue the day she had decided to love Blazestar. She should have. She should have screamed his name in a fury like no other, but she couldn't. Not when she saw the bundle of living, breathing joy she had produced suckling against her teats. How could she hate Blazestar when he had been the one to help her create this beautiful creature? When he had been the one to help her survive all these years.

"Any ideas for a name?" Blazestar whispered, pride gleaming in his weary golden eyes. Despite his announcements and duties he'd be busy with in the morning, he stayed up with her all morning. His midnight speckled fur was shifted in every other way and he was curled up next to her, pressing into her for comfort.

"Dawn..." Featherdust cooed sweetly, nuzzling her beautiful kit. Her daughter was dark like her father, but also had streaks of ginger spotting her back. She had the coloration of a fawn, and it filled Featherdust's heart to the brim of explosion. "Dawnkit. My sweetheart." She purred, pressing her nose into her wriggling kit. Dawnkit, whose closed eyes scrunched in disapproval, let out a loud wail of protest when her mother poked her.

Now Featherdust understood what it was like to feel so responsible for one being, and to love them eternally.

"Feisty, stubborn... Just like me." Blazestar grinned, leaning down to face his kit. "Hi there little one. Welcome to the world." Dawnkit snorted when her father poked her with his nose, whining in even more protest. "You'll do a great many things one day… Like the coming of dawn, you'll light up this world." His smile was so soft and gentle than Featherdust had ever seen it.

"Great many things indeed..." Featherdust echoed his words, knowing deep down in her heart it was true. She didn't know how, but it was a sensation that filled from her toes to her ears that screamed it was true.

Hollyberry, who had left after the kitting was over, suddenly stepped in through the linen that guarded the nursery entrance. Doveheart, the deputy, followed her through the linen, eyeing Blazestar and Featherdust coolly.

"You do realize that you will no longer be able to serve as clan medicine cat, Featherdust?" Doveheart murmured calmly, her eyes might have been quiet, but they were just waiting for someone to question her. They crackled with fury and revolution and it sent waves of humiliation through Featherdust. Blazestar noticed his deputy's attitude and Featherdust's discomfort, so he stood to his full height and looked down to Doveheart.

"That is not the case Doveheart." Blazestar interrupted, holding his head high and firm. He was the leader and she was his deputy, there was no suggestion in his tone. "There is no reason Featherdust cannot perform her duties as a medicine cat in the future. Right now, that is understandable, because she is with kit. Later she will be able to work just as she has been doing for moons." Doveheart's fur stood up in agitation as she glared at her leader, but she said not a word against him.

"Do not look at me like that Doveheart... She didn't do anything wrong. It should not be a crime to love, no matter what part of the clan you are from." Doveheart's thin tail began to lash against the dusty ground, but she did not question her leader. His word was law.

Featherdust kept silent, not wanting to agitate Doveheart further. Blazestar got up, realizing that Doveheart was still angry. Instead of forcing Featherdust to be part of this obviously brewing argument just after she had kitted, he nodded for them to follow him outside. The two she-cats glanced at each other, a moment of some sort of understanding passing in between them before they followed.

Sighing deeply, Featherdust shifted uncomfortably in her moss nest, post kitting was never comfortable. She'd probably be sore for moons, at least that's how she felt. Then fear hit her as she noticed all the queens staring at her. What if the queens treated her as Doveheart and Hollyberry had?

They were shockingly very sympathetic toward Featherdust's situation, and all three of them circled her with wide eyes of admiration.

Duskstream, the oldest of all the queens, looked down at Dawnkit, who had quietly gone back to suckling at her mother for milk. "Look at her... " She cooed quietly, "She's going to be a beautiful she-cat when she grows up." Featherdust ducked her head shyly toward the older gray colored she-cat.

"Th-thank you Duskstream..." She meowed shyly, and the other queens all smiled back. The youngest queen, Smokestorm spoke next, her tailing holding back a small army of Duskstream's curious kits.

"Don't worry about Hollyberry and Doveheart, somethings I wonder if they have fox dung in their fur. They are always so uptight." She whispered in a matter of fact tone, throwing a glance toward the entrance to make sure no one was around.

"Everyone makes mistakes; even medicine cats fall under that category." Shrewpelt, the last queen, who still had a swelling bell full of kits just like Smokestorm, purred. Though then her eyes widened suddenly, "N-Not that this little bundle of joy was a mistake. Sorry…"

"It's fine..." She chuckled, bowing her head toward Shrewpelt. This was the warmest welcoming Featherdust could have imagined.

Finally, Smokestorm was no longer able to hold back the kits she had been keeping at bay, and Emberkit, Brindlekit, and Kestrelkit shot forward to meet the new bundle in their den.

"When is she gonna open her eyes?" Kestrelkit asked as he sniffed at the new kit. He scrunched his nose and backed away, "Ew she smells... Weird." Featherdust laughed, her tail absentmindedly curling around her beloved child protectively.

"She might smell a little weird for the first couple days... You smelled like that too when you were born." Kestrelkit made another face, then his mother Duskstream began to lead him away with her tail.

"Away from her darling, let her sleep." But another small kit interrupted, a ginger she-cat who was also Duskstream's kit.

"But I want to play with her! I wouldn't want her to feel left out." Emberkit squeaked, but was quickly herded away as well.

"No, no kittens. Come let's go play outside and out of Featherdust's care." But as soon as they started to step out of the nursery, one of the clan's warriors stepped in front of them. It was Beechpelt, a tall handsome tom with a broad pair of shoulders.

He smiled weakly, nervously sitting down in front of them all. Featherdust had this icy feeling form in her chest, something definitely wasn't right.

"Please move out of the way Beechpelt..." Duskstream spoke calmly, but with an air of authority. She was one of the oldest queen, but that also made her a senior warrior.

"No can do Duskstream... Blazestar has ordered you all must stay in here. S-Sorry." That sure didn't sound like Blazestar, Featherdust thought, fear pinching at her heart.

"Why?" She piped up, earning herself an apologetic glance from Beechpelt.

"Don' know. Orders are orders." He said firmly, sucking up his worries planting himself in front of the entrance so no one could leave.

"Can I speak to Blazestar?" Featherdust asked, but he looked away. He was hiding something, but why? Why would he act like this? He was one of the sweetest toms in the can.

"No." Is all he said, before spending the rest of his time there in silence, no matter how many questions the queens asked him.

Eventually night settled over all of them, and another warrior named Lilystep silently stepped in to feed them all and offer new bedding. Lilystep refused to look at any of them as she came in to leave them all their necessities. Featherdust quietly begged her ancestors for guidance, or advice, but they were oddly quiet. It wasn't even just plain silence, there was this empty void like feeling that had filled Featherdust when she had tried to reach out to them. When she woke up she felt sick to her stomach.

"What's wrong Featherdust?" Duskstream asked, watching her from the comfort of her own nest. It seemed that Duskstream and Featherdust were the only ones awake, and Featherdust had no quarrel with that.

"It's... very strange. It's been very strange since yesterday. I have not been able to contact Star Clan, and have not had any message from them... At all. It's like they're blocked..." Featherdust sighed, her ears drooping. Though Duskstream could not get up for the three small bundle that were settle against her side, her affectionate gaze helped Featherdust calm all the same.

"I'm sure it is all fine. They must be planning, or perhaps they realize you don't need their help. They know better than us, Featherdust." She murmured, and Featherdust had to believe her. Because if she didn't she would begin to fall, and this was not the time for her depression to over throw her.

Depression was something that Featherdust had been suffering from since she was an apprentice, and was the reason she had grown so close to Blazestar. It was something that had no cure, and something that didn't exist according to her former mentor. Those simple words offered by Duskstream calmed her nerves and eased her nagging anxiety. Now all that remained was the fear of what was happening out in the clan while she was barred in the nursery...

She wondered how long it would last. How long would they be trapped? How long would Star Clan remain silent?


	2. Chapter 2: In the Grey

Dawnkit opened her eyes as sunlight, that had been breaking through the linen to the entrance of the nursery, hit her face. She squinted and hid her face into her mother's soft fur, then groaned about not wanting to get up, but it was mostly unconceivable.

"Dawnkit, precious… Time to get up." Her mother's sweet and serene voice coaxed her head away from soft sanctuary. Dawnkit glared up at her mother. She didn't want to get up! She stuck out her tongue and attempted to wriggle under her mother's stomach. She was stopped, eventually, when her mother picked her up by the scruff and set her down on the cold hard ground. Hissing in discomfort, Dawnkit shook her paws around before she found it comfortable to step around.

She spotted Kestrelkit stretching out amongst his sleeping siblings, and she immediately dropped into a crawl. Practicing her hunter's crouch, she stalked forward, imagining herself in the paw steps of huge mountain lion about to pounce of a deer.

One… Two… Three… And then Kestrelkit screeched as Dawnkit landed on his rump and grappled for control. Except he was much bigger than she and shook her off easily. He turned on her, his eyes sparking with challenge and, before Dawnkit could prepare herself, he flung himself at her. They rolled around the den giggling, without a care in the world. This was their usual day in the den.

Shrewpelt watched solemnly from the corner of the den, a sadness in her eyes. She had been pregnant with four kits and they had all died at birth. But she cared for all of them like a second mother.

"Be careful you two." She purred, eyes twinkling as she watched them.

Dawnkit was, out of all the kits, the most excited to be made an apprentice, and she only had a month left before she would. Though she had not seen the camp yet, her mother promised her she would. When she asked to go play outside, Featherdust always shook her head. Over the last couple months Dawnkit noticed that her mother was becoming quieter and skinnier. She had started eating less of her meals and she had not been getting too much sleep. When asked Featherdust always exclaimed that she was fine and encouraged Dawnkit to go play.

"Okay, Okay children." Featherdust laughed airy, standing up on her thin bony legs. She looked like the wind would blow her over any moment. "Settle, settle. Smokestorm is still sleeping… Let her sleep."

"Too late for that." Smokestorm, a dark gray tabby she-cat with sky blue eyes laughed, watching Dawnkit and Kestrelkit wrestle. "My kits woke me up hours ago…" Ivykit and Rosekit's heads poked out from behind their mother as summoned, watching the rest of the kits mischievously. Dawnkit and Kestrelkit rolled near Smokestorm, and the unexpected attack from the two sisters prompted both Kestrelkit and Dawnkit to turn around and run screeching.

Giggling the queens watched their kits bounce around. It wasn't long before a warrior from outside the nursery ordered them to keep quiet. Featherdust, who was always so sweet to the kits and the queens, turned a furious, withering glare to the guard who had poked their head in.

"Why? This is the only place where they get to live, they can't even go outside. They haven't smelled fresh air since the day most of them were born." The warrior sighed, looking half sympathetic and half anxious. It was Beechpelt, a cream colored tom who was usually there to watch them. He was the kindest out of all their guards.

"You know we can't allow you to." He explained, his eyes twitching back toward the outside world. The world that Dawnkit had never seen. The world she had never been able to savor. The world Dawnkit yearned for everyday she was stuck in this den. But soon… Soon she would become an apprentice and then she would be able to leave.

"And why is that?" Featherdust snapped, just like every time she tried to talk to the guards, or tried to get information, the guards turned and ignored her and the questions. Apparently there had been a time where guards hadn't existed, but Dawnkit had never lived in that age. The only explanation they got was that they were in trouble from outside clans. Duskstream told them that they guards were there to protect them. But after waking up to finding her mother crying and the times where Featherdust stared longingly at the entrance Dawnkit didn't think so.

"I want to speak to my mate. Let me speak to Blazestar." Featherdust snapped, her anger exploding and fraying out into an uncontrollable rage.

"You don't have a mate. Medicine cats don't have mates." A strange black cat Dawnkit had never seen walked in, her piercing green eyes solely pinned on Featherdust. The same cat who had showed up when Shrewpelt had been having her kits.

Dawnkit, who had frozen when the guard first popped their head in, now rolled off of Kestrelkit. Her fur began to bristle along her neck. She felt defensive. This cat was part of their clan, and Dawnkit should have respected her, but she didn't. For some reason this cat seemed like an enemy. Maybe it was the way she walked or the way she talked, but Dawnkit didn't trust a lick of it.

"Where is Blazestar, Hollyberry." Featherdust's voice was desperate, and Dawnkit felt her heart ache. Blazestar was but a story to Dawnkit, she had never met her father, nor had she had she heard much about him. Whenever Featherdust talked about him she would burst into tears and then fall into days of silence. As long as they had been in this den they had not seen many of the clan cats, only the occasion guard of faces none of them recognized.

"It's not of any of your concern, Featherdust." Hollyberry murmured coolly, eying her mother with a level of hatred that Dawnkit did not understand.

"What do you-" Featherdust was about to start shouting, but then a second silver she-cat ambled in with swagger than could have owned the world.

"Featherdust, darling, everything is fine. We've been having some trouble sorting out… clan values the last couple months, but it's all finally been settled. The other clans didn't approve of your actions, as to why we had to keep you in here. We have finally come to terms of agreement, and Blazestar has finally been able to let you go. As he should." Dawnkit's mother wavered, and in that moment Dawnkit wished she were bigger. She wished she could puff up her chest and let out an ear deafening roar that would scare these mean cats away.

"Wh-What do you mean Doveheart. I want to talk to him." She snapped, shaking more aggressively. Her mother was so scared.

She came close to her mother, and entwined herself in between her paws. Her mother's breathing seemed to slow when Dawnkit came near, and her kits presence calmed her. Doveheart looked down at Dawnkit, and in retaliation Dawnkit puffed out her chest. She wasn't about to be scared off by this mean cat and her nasty sidekick.

"All in due time Featherdust, but thankfully it will not take long. For we have a clan meeting and you are invited." Featherdust's eyes blazed, but she kept her composure. She nodded, and the moment Doveheart realized that Dawnkit was determined to follow she added a few more words hastily. "And no kits. All the queens but not the kits… We will have a warrior here to watch them."

Featherdust glared at Doveheart, and for a moment it looked as though she would fight the decree, but Duskstream's tail came to rest on her mother's shoulder. After there were a couple of soft words murmured Featherdust managed to relax and give in.

"Fine." Featherdust finally decided, and she then turned around to the kits, looking at Dawnkit specifically. "Now be good my precious, stay safe and don't cause trouble." Dawnkit simply smiled and nuzzled her mother's legs.

Then with a reluctant stride, the queens followed Doveheart and Hollyberry out into the clearing. Nothing about the entire encounter settled well with Dawnkit and she watched them with a hollow feeling in her stomach.

"What do you think is going to happen?" She asked quietly, but none of the other kits seemed to be paying any attention.

"Who cares?" Brindlekit, Kestrelkit's brother, said lazily, as he batted at a leaf that was fluttering throughout the den.

"It's probably something to do with our apprenticeship." Now that had Dawnkit more excited, and she was even more reluctant to sit in the den and let all the cats do something without her.

"Why don't we go and find out?" Dawnkit asked, watching the entrance to the den like a hawk. When she looked back all the kits were watching her in horror, as if she had just suggest murder.

"B-But we aren't allowed out there without permission… We would get in trouble…" Rosekit offered her opinion, and Dawnkit nearly snapped back at her. But she gathered herself and kept her head up tall.

"What can they do to us that's worse than spending nearly 6 moons in the nursery. Nothing. I'm going." No other kit in the nursery opted to follow her, not even Kestrelkit. He watched her with wide, terrified eyes just like his brother. Dawnkit rolled her eyes and stepped cautiously to the entrance of the den, there were no warriors.

They were probably at the meeting Doveheart had talked about. Kestrelkit stepped forward behind her, but it wasn't an eager step.

"Don't… I don't want you to get in trouble." His reddish, brindle brown fur was on end, but Dawnkit hardly listened.

"Like she'd care if she got in trouble, don't let her get _us_ into trouble." Brindlekit snapped aggressively, narrowing his eyes at Dawnkit. He still hadn't gotten over that time Dawnkit had gotten them all in trouble after pretending to be sick.

"Well I _don't_ care. I want to see what they are doing. I'll come back quickly… I just want to see." Kestrelkit's tail fell, but he nodded and stepped back. No one else questioned her as she slid out of the den.

—

The clan camp was beautiful. Dawnkit felt her chest swell when a fresh breeze rolled by and parted her fur. The scents of air and wood filled her, and for a moment she was lost in the sensation of the outdoor world. Never had she wanted to stay out and lounge in the sun so badly, but she quickly pulled herself together. She was here for a reason. Then she realized a huge gathering of cats surrounded a large rock that Doveheart was currently standing on, with an unrecognizable golden cat next to her.

Looking around Dawnkit saw that the camp was circled by a huge amount of brush and forest, which meant great hiding places for her. She crouched down and began to creep forward toward the high rock and the mass group of cats. The bush's leaves and twigs lightly touched her pelt and ticked her legs, but nothing snagged or caught against her. For her first time using the hunter's crouch in a serious situation, she thought she was doing a good job.

No one seemed to notice Dawnkit prowling around, because they were all focused on Doveheart. Her mother had told her about that rock before, had told her it was where the leader sat to give announcements and orders. But she didn't see any cat that Featherdust had described as her father up there. No dark pelt stood on that rock, in fact she couldn't see any cat in the crowd that even resembled her father.

She came up to a thick trunked shrub that sat tall enough to see over the crowd, so with her quietest feet she attempted to climb it. Whenever the branches began to sway, or shake, she would freeze and wait for them to silence again. Still, no cat noticed. They were either really focused on whatever Doveheart was talking about, or she was very good at sneaking.

Finally, she was in earshot of Doveheart, and could even see her mother, so she settled down on her branched and watched on.

Doveheart with an air of authority, her head high and tail raised. She looked as though she owned every inch of earth she could step on, and when she finally saw the look on her mother's face she felt a cold stone hit the bottom of her stomach. Featherdust had tears streaked down her face. Fear was firm in her eyes.

"Dovestar has finally come to a decision about what we will do with you traitors…" Since when was Doveheart _Dovestar_ , where was her father? Dawnkit thought her father was leader, where was Blazestar? Dawnkit felt sick, because everything seemed so wrong. The golden cat who Dawnkit didn't know stood down, and let Dovestar step forward.

"What do you mean Dovestar?" Duskstream shouted, looking angrily around at the clan. "Blazestar was at the peak of his life. What happened to him?" The queen shouted, but Featherdust said nothing. She looked broken and hollow, like a shell. Featherdust looked as though she had given up.

"Blazestar… Wasn't fit to lead this clan, everyone saw it…" Dovestar explained, watching the cats below her as if they were less than the dirt she stepped on. Murmurs of agreement spread throughout the cats of the clan, and Smokestorm looked around wildly. It seemed she didn't recognize anyone around her.

"Dovehea-star. Who are these cats, they don't…? Where is _my_ mate? Where is Cedarfur?" She growled, her hackles raising in fury.

"We also… Saw that some were more willing to follow Blazestar than their own code. We couldn't let cats like that continue on in the clans…" Dovestar murmured, her eyes watching the queens like a falcon on prey.

"So you kicked them out, because they didn't agree with your terms?" Shrewpelt shouted, her voice filled with scorn.

"Our _terms_ are the warrior code. A long known code that you purposely defied. A code that is _our_ flesh and blood. We are responsible for following it as cats of _this_ forest." Dovestar roared, her pristine elegance shattering for a moment in a fit of rage. Her eyes nearly popped out of her skull with anger, but the sleek silver cat quickly re-figured her expression and stared down coldly at all the queens.

"They warrior code is important, but rules aren't always meant to be followed." Featherdust said boldly, and it was the first thing she had said the entire time Dawnkit had been watching. "Just because our ancestors thought those rules were best years and years ago, does not mean they would be best for _us_. We are a newer generation; we are allowed to change rules." Dovestar laughed, and Featherdust cowered, because it was a malicious and powerful laugh.

"You sound just like Blazestar…" Dovestar, who toyed with something that no one else could see atop the high rock. "Well… I should say sounded… Since he's no longer speaking about anything." Dawnkit watched on in horror as Dovestar rolled the skull of a cat down from the high rock and down in front of the cats. Dawnkit felt sick, her stomach twisted itself over in knots. It was painful to stay still upon the branch she was perched, but it was also impossible to move.

"Blazestar…." Featherdust whispered, inching forward to the severed head that was half rotted away. Black fur matted the rotting flesh and Dawnkit had to hold her breath to keep from vomiting. It was not a recent kill.

Dawnkit felt tears sting at her eyes, and her heart hammered rapidly on the verge of bursting. How could they do this? How could the warrior code have brought them to this?

"No…" She weakly cradled the skull in her tiny paws, not knowing what to do with herself. The queens watched on, all horrified. Duskstream stepped back, her ears flattening against her skull. A couple of cats stepped behind her, blocking her entrance.

"I want to see my kits. Now." She said quietly, looking around with a wavering calm gaze. But Dawnkit could see the lie, there was a burning fear the glimmered in her old gray eyes. Her dust colored fur stood on end as she looked around, trying to find an exit.

"Sorry…" Dovestar murmured, smiling like a cat gone mad. All of them had gone mad. "Hollyberry… She has spoken to Star clan and our ancestors… They say that all of you are tainted… Our gods have demanded a purge."

"Tainted?" Featherdust choked out amid her silent sobbing, looking up at Dovestar now as if she had spawned straight up from all the layers of hell.

"Cats who have lineages to… Kitty pets, loners, rogues…. They do not earn the approval of Star Clan. Hollyberry knows who you are, our ancestors have told her who are the true warriors here." Dovestar explained, and all the queens grew taught as strung branches.

"Dovestar you are mad… You have gone crazy!" Smokestorm wailed, backing up alongside Duskstream. "W-We'll go. Let us take our kits and leave!" She started crying. Maybe she began crying because she realized they weren't going to let her go, or maybe because she assumed all of her kits were dead already.

A small panic spread throughout Dawnkit at the mention of what could have happened to her den mates, but she couldn't go back and check. She was stuck to the branch. The vine that had tangle her back paw pulled painfully at her skin and fur.

"Oh no… Just like those who didn't agree with us… We cannot let them go… Oh no. It is the will of Star clan that we eradicate all those not worthy from the forest. And you all are tainted, you are tainted by blood and by Featherdust's misdeeds." In that moment, Dawnkit was sure that they would all turn on Featherdust, ready to throw her under toe to save themselves, but that is not what she witnessed.

All the queens looked around at each other, fear and horror plastered against their weary faces, but they nodded strongly. Even though they were all shaking like leaves in a strong wind, they all walked to each other, side by side, and faced Dovestar.

"You cannot do this Dovestar… This is not Star clan's will. There will be consequences." Featherdust's rasped, but her voice echoed throughout the clan, camp clear and certain. Before Star clan had been cut off from her, she had been one of the most connected cats in all four clans. She knew something that Dawnkit didn't, and faced the last minutes of her life with dignity.

"You have insulted the stars and your ancestors, they yearn for your death. Hollyberry has told me all. Our gods deserve recognition… And if any of us want to join them in the stars then we must follow their will." And at the bottom high rock, that dark she-cat from before watched on with eyes as cold as ice, but blazing with so much hatred they could have been glowing like fire.

"May Star clan lead me to smite the unworthy and evil of this world." The yowls that followed nearly cracked Dawnkit's ear drums.


	3. Chapter 3: Unspeakable Evils

The warriors surrounded them, pouncing on the queens once they were cornered. A large dark brown tom leapt forward and cut Shrewpelt's throat with a single flick of his paw, spraying the dusty clearing in dark blood. Dawnkit had to bite back a scream.

Duskstream, who had realized long ago that they were not leaving, leapt readily over a charging warrior and aimed herself toward the nursery. A female warrior, an orange tabby, caught Duskstream half way there, and they rolled against the ground. Duskstream was able to put up some fight, but other cats joined the tabby she-cat and Duskstream disappeared inside a mass of cats angry spitting cats.

Smokestorm screeched as warriors covered her with blows, though she did try to fight back as well. But being in a nursery for months with barely enough room to walk around did not give her the strength to do so. Eventually one cat got a hold of her neck, snapping it with ease.

Featherdust stood in the center of the clearing, untouched, but she had not moved. She looked around, with a calm expression, and Dawnkit thought it was the calmest that Featherdust had ever looked in her life. Dawnkit tried to get away, tried to stop herself from seeing this massacre, but a vine form the bush tangled with her paw, stopping her short and forcing her to watch.

"Your friends are dead, traitor!" Dovestar yowled, in a type of delight that made Dawnkit shiver, not that she hadn't been shaking before. Dawnkit couldn't breathe and she hoped this was a nightmare. Some stupid, fever sick nightmare. But when the smell of blood hit her hard, and she knew it wasn't.

"Aren't you scared to die?" Dovestar snarled, jumping down from her spot on the high rock and in front of the former medicine cat. Featherdust held up her head, not blinking and looking past Dovestar.

"I'm not afraid to join Star Clan…" She murmured solemnly, blinking slowly and taking a deep breath. Her mother was truly ready to die. The burning tears tat were swelling in Dawnkit's eyes blurred her vision, and she bent down to rub her face against her paws. Why was this happening? Why would they do this?

"You know Featherdust… Blazestar was supposed to be _mine_. YOU corrupted him with your taint and your disgusting ideas." Dovestar roared, and Hollyberry glanced at her leader disapprovingly. It was obvious that Hollyberry was just as authoritative as Dovestar.

"Dearest Leader, control yourself." Hollyberry murmured, her voice low but all the same threatening. Dovestar looked back, and though Dawnkit could not see her face she sensed it was filled with fury. In that moment, without hesitation, Dovestar jumped forward toward her mother and clamped her jaws around Featherdust's frail neck. Her mother did not react, nor did she scream, but she instead looked straight into the brush where Dawnkit was hiding.

A tiny sad smile crept across her face as she watched her daughter, some final last unspoken statement to prove to Dawnkit she loved her. Tears gleamed in her sapphire blue eyes, illuminating the last light before it went out.

Featherdust's neck snapped in two, and her head nearly came clean off. Dovestar had not held back when executing her mother. Dawnkit felt bile rise in her throat, but she forced herself to swallow it, because if any cat smelled it she would be dead. She needed to get back to the nursery, she needed to try and get them out. If they weren't already dead.

Dawnkit pulled against the vine that had captured leg, but it only bruised the flesh under her skin. As painful as it might have been, Dawnkit pushed through and pulled again, straining even more this time, but being careful not to cut herself.

"Dovestar…" Hollyberry's voice came through the silence like a claw through water. "What of their kits…" Hollyberry voice was nowhere near a question, it was an order. Suddenly the vine snapped free, rattling the bush vaguely. Hollyberry's ears flicked toward it, but she made no action and simply ignored it.

"What about the kits?" Dovestar's voice sounded confused, but Dawnkit knew what Hollyberry meant. If their mothers were tainted then they were too, but Dawnkit didn't stay to hear what Hollyberry had to stay. Whether they planned to kill Dawnkit, and the other kits didn't matter because she didn't want to stay anyway. They had killed her mother; just as they had killed her den mate's mothers.

The moment she scrambled into the den she was not able to hold back the bile rising in her throat, and it came out all over the floor. Heaving, it came up once more, and a new wave of swelling tears spilled down her cheeks.

No one had come into the den, but the kits were all huddled together looking like they'd just seen ghosts, but nothing nearly as bad as what she had just seen.

"Who… Who screamed…" Rosekit asked, shaking from head to tail.

"We need to leave. Now." Dawnkit managed to choke out through the stinging in her throat, taking a few steps forward before her legs failed and she tripped straight into Kestrelkit.

"Wh-Why? What happened? Dawnkit!" Kestrelkit panicked, but Dawnkit shook him off. She needed to focus, she needed to get them out. She needed to save them.

"They're all dead." Was all she could spit out at first, the taste of vomit still plaguing her tongue. "Shrewpelt… Duskstream… Smokestorm… All dead. They killed them all." Dawnkit held back an oncoming sob that rose into her throat, and held her head up. Her body shook, but the moment she mentioned that his mother had died she lost Kestrelkit's support to stand up. All the kits stared at her with wide eyes and Ivykit, the smallest of them all, immediately burst into tears.

"What do you mean they're—" Brindlekit started, looking just as shaky as his brother. Emberkit sat in between her brothers in shock, her mouth hanging open.

"Something about them not being true warriors. It's was just pure evil… And evil has no mercy for anyone." Ivykit stared at her in shock as she swore. "We need to leave now, before they come in for us next." Dawnkit snapped, beginning towards the back of the den.

"There is a little hole back here. We can all slip out." Dawnkit ordered, and most of the kits followed her, dazed with the shock. Kestrelkit stayed toward the back, making sure every other kit got through the hole before he did. It was a tight hole that Dawnkit had carved out of the thorny branches, but it was big enough for even Brindlekit to squeeze through.

The next step was trying to get out of a forest they've never been in, at least it was the morning. Without any more thought, the kits began their great escape.


	4. Chapter 4: Great Escape

"C-Come on." Dawnkit ushered quietly, as they trotted wearily through the forest. In the first couple minutes Rosekit had stepped on a thorn and then Brindlekit had slipped onto his face, but they were now at a steady pace. It felt like they had traveled a great distance, but when Dawnkit looked back the camp was still in view.

Dawnkit pressed forward despite the lack of progress, managing to drag herself up a muddy slope, plastering her legs in a thick layer of mud. Kestrelkit was right behind her, but he had to turn around half way to help his brother up. Once they had helped everyone up, and they were all thoroughly a coat of brown, then they heard a screech. It was most assuredly Dovestar's and it sent chills down Dawnkit's back.

"Go. Run. Now." She whispered urgently, but her voice was strained with the sting of dried vomit and now mud. Dawnkit started to sprint and only hoped to Star Clan that everyone else followed. When she shot a look back, all of the kits were heaving behind her in their poor attempt to sprint through the brush. For the smaller cats it was harder to push through the leaves and branches, but they did it. Somehow they did it.

"Find them! We cannot let the taint spread through our forest." A faint yowl echoed through the forest. Dawnkit felt her heart thundering in her throat and the blood pulsing through her ears.

"Faster. Hurry." Dawnkit begged the kits who had begun to falter, she couldn't bear to see anymore death. Not when she could help it.

"I-I can't." Rosekit had begun to cry, and Dawnkit could see the strain that Rosekit was putting into her leaps. Every time she stepped forward her body shook with effort.

"A little more. We just need to find a place to hide. A little more please." Dawnkit begged. The nearby rustling of leaves and the growls of cats followed them through the forest.

"I have their scent trail. They're only kits, they shouldn't be hard to find." Dawnkit was so scared, and she could feel vomit fill her throat again. She swallowed it with a reluctant shiver, it tasted awful but she couldn't afford to. The scent of garlic hit her nostrils and her nose scrunched. It was so powerful and nasty… That was it.

Dawnkit veered to the left toward the thick smell of garlic, and then landed herself in a blooming garlic patch. "Quick. Roll in it. It'll hide our scents."

None of the kits questioned her, because they were to paralyzed with fear to question the only voice that could sound like an authority. They all began to roll violently in the herbs, and Dawnkit even pulled up a small clove of the white root to carry with them. Maybe it would throw off the warriors, it had to. The warrior's voice echoed through the brush, getting closer… And closer.

It a couple minutes of frantic panic she spotted a stream that stretched as long as the eye could see. The stream was deeply embedded into the earth, a couple fox tail lengths of a slope leaning sharply down to it. There was an alcove that Dawnkit was just barely able to make out, and it was protected by a thick array of roots.

"Down there. We'll hide down there." Dawnkit ordered, but her own voice didn't trust herself. What if it couldn't hide them and they all were caught? But she steeled her features and began to slide down the muddy slope that was so deep and mushy into the earth that her paws slide against clay too.

She inspected the alcove and found it was an old den of sort, for what had boringly had inhabited she did not know. But it had been dug deep and had old moss and dried grass covering the floor. The roots must have grown to block the entrance over the years that it has been left vacant. Kestrelkit was the first one to slide down next to her, and she could hear the warriors closing in. They only had so much time now.

"Get down. Come on." Brindlekit and Emberkit followed hesitantly after their brother, and Dawnkit pushed them into the roots and dropped the garlic at the small hole naturally cut out through the roots.

"Th-They'll find us." Whimpered Rosekit, who was still at the top of the slope with her sister. They both looked back and forth, as if they couldn't make up their mind about whether they trusted Dawnkit or not.

"What if they don't want to hurt us? What if they want to help?" Rosekit added, as if she was justifying her reluctance, but Ivykit looked less sure of Rosekit's theory. Ivykit, making her final decision, slid down to follow Dawnkit into the small alcove. Now that mostly every kit was hidden, Dawnkit stepped back into the alcove trying to hide, but also trying to coax Rosekit to join them. The warriors were closer, and Dawnkit could smell them.

"Rosekit." She hissed, "Come _on_." But Rosekit didn't move, she stood there frozen. Stubborn and reluctant as she always had been, but this was not the time. Rosekit's eyes flashed to the side, because she could sense them coming, probably smell them too.

Dawnkit's body grew rigid as she watched Rosekit turn around and run off into the forest. Ivykit immediately tried to spring up and follow her sister. Kestrelkit had to grab Ivykit and force her down, and Dawnkit had to force a paw into her mouth to keep her quiet, because in that moment a pair of dark colored warriors stepped along the edge of the stream. Their eyes felt like beacons and they survey the area, sniffing the air around them. All of the kits sat still, nothing but the sounds of their shaking, whispered breaths filling the den.

"This way." The dark brindle she-cat with a white muzzle and ice blue eyes murmured, heading in the direction that Rosekit went. "They might have tried to roll in garlic, which I admit is clever, but it wears away eventually." Then they trotted off at a steady pace.

They sat in fearful silence for the next couple minutes, eagerly listening to the world around them and hoping they only heard silence. Though it wasn't too long after the warriors disappeared that they heard a scream… Rosekit's scream. Ivykit released a muffled sob, burying her face into Emberkit's flank and shaking violently. Dawnkit stepped farther back into the alcove, tears swelling and burning her eyes and spilling down her cheeks. She should of have made Rosekit come… She should of…

"It wasn't your fault." Kestrelkit murmured into her ear. They had been friends since she was born. He was nearly two moons older than she was, and they always laughed about him being held back to wait for her and the others. But no one was laughing, or smiling now. Ivykit sat miserably against Emberkit's flank, her eyes blood shot and her fur on edge. Emberkit was staring at Dawnkit with a dull questioning gaze? Why? How? And Dawnkit was asking all the same questions, so she had no answers for Emberkit.

"What are we going to do?" Brindlekit asked so quietly Dawnkit barely heard him. He was afraid that they would be heard. She had never seen Brindlekit so scared, never seen him resolve himself to listen to a kit younger than him. He was the one kit in the den who had picked on Dawnkit, it had been an obnoxious incessant teasing that had annoyed Dawnkit so. Now he was so small and vulnerable. The days that Dawnkit wished she could have beat up and fought back against Brindlekit vanished and swept away in the wind.

"St-Stay here…" Dawnkit began, thinking hard. What _were_ they going to do? "Stay here till night… Then we'll… Try to get far away as possible." She murmured, still unsure about the plan herself.

"How?" Emberkit spoke up, glaring at Dawnkit, as if this was all her fault. "We don't know how to hunt, how to fight, we don't know anything. How can we survive?"

"We'll have to figure it out." Dawnkit raised her head, staring at Emberkit back. Authority washed over Dawnkit, as she had been the one to get them out. She had led them to safety. And Emberkit now sounded like he was blaming Dawnkit.

"If you're mother hadn't gotten us in this mess… Our mother's would still be alive." Dawnkit's fur immediately went up and she had half a mind to hurl herself at Emberkit, but Kestrelkit stepped in between them. He looked slowly from Emberkit to Dawnkit, his eyes pleading.

"We can't fight now. Not when the stakes are so high. Be quiet the both of you..." He murmured carefully, looking back to his sister. Dawnkit's chest swelled with fury, but she backed down. If she didn't, one of them would seriously get hurt, and it wouldn't have been opportune for their current situation.

Hissing quietly under her breath, Dawnkit turned away and found the furthest most place to be from Emberkit. Though she had curled into a tight ball, she was nowhere falling asleep. She couldn't sleep, even if her life depended on it, because the fear was just too much. While her ears were twitching, picking up the surrounding sounds of the afternoon forest, she heard Kestrelkit talking quietly to his sister.

"But-" Emberkit shot back to something Kestrelkit said, but she silenced. Probably due to Kestrelkit glaring at her, he had that kind of effect.

"She had nothing to do with it, and neither did Featherdust. Our clan turned their backs on us Emberkit." There was a grumbled growl from his sister, and she heard a bit of shuffling.

"I know you're upset Emberkit… But we cannot blame each other. Especially not Dawnkit, _even_ if her mother had done something wrong, we cannot blame her actions upon Dawnkit." There was a reluctant noise of agreement, and the den grew quiet again.

Dawnkit managed to close her eyes and drift into a dark, and terrifying, slumber.


	5. Chapter 5: Burning Tensions

When Dawnkit woke it was dark and the cool night air was pressing against the sides of her flank. Most of the kits in the den had lulled asleep, even Emberkit, but Ivykit was the only one still awake. She sat silently at the entrance to the den, staring out into the wide expansive forest that surrounded them.

Dawnkit stepped over quietly, sitting down next to Ivykit. Ivykit was all white with splotches of light brown painting her face and parts of her back. Forest green eyes twinkled in the moonlight as she watched the sky.

"You know…" She whispered, casting a quick glance to Dawnkit and then staring back out at the sky. "The forest is very beautiful at night. It's like being in a completely new world."

"It is a different world." Dawnkit murmured quietly, staring at the stars that twinkled in through the mesh of branches and leaves. They sat in silence absorbed in it all, ignoring the awful evil hanging over their heads just for a moment.

"Why did they do it?" Ivykit asked suddenly, her voice taut with a sea of emotions.

"I don't know… When I had crept out… Dovestar had been so cruel, there was no mercy. It was as if she thought she were doing the right thing. She said it had all been for star clan… At least that's what I saw. I don't know why they thought it was right…" The words came out in a scrambled mess as Dawnkit attempted to console Ivykit.

"How could they think murdering three innocent cats was good?" Ivykit's voice broke, but Dawnkit didn't have an answers. "The clan is supposed to protect… They were _supposed_ to be good." Ivykit's voice shook and deep pity broke into Dawnkit's chest.

"No one knows why bad cats do bad things…" Dawnkit murmured sadly, tears prickling at the edges of her eyes at the thought her mother. Flashes of red intercepted her thoughts and she squeezed her eyes shut, she just wanted it all to go away. She would have stayed in the nursery for years if it would have kept her mother alive, but unfortunately death did not pick between the sinners or saints.

They sat there for a couple moments more, in a mutual silence that was taut but also comfortable. They had survived, that was one thing they would always remember, but others had not, and that was something they would never forget.

The smell of smoke hit Dawnkit's nostrils and she sneezed. Her eyes shot up trying to search for fire, but she couldn't see anything. The night around them was as black as before, no glowing hot embers or rising flames, but the smell hit her all the same. She knew it was incoming, especially with the wind pulling it their way. They needed to start moving again. Ivykit looked at her, an understanding, and albeit horrified, look that relieved Dawnkit.

"Everyone up." Ivykit spoke first, and roused the rest of the other kits.

"Wh-Why?" Brindlekit shot up terrified, as if he had already been dreaming of terrible things. It was an understandable response, since they were currently living in a nightmare, so Dawnkit stepped over and placed a tail over his shoulder.

"There is smoke. I don't know from where, or why, but it's here and we need to leave." Her voice shook again, because what if it was closer than they knew.

"Unless we all want black lungs." Ivykit added, a sense of humor in her tongue. It pulled weak smiles onto Brindlekit and Kestrelkit's faces, and it made Dawnkit smile too.

—

Soon they were all awake and trudging through the forest, in the direction they thought was away from the clan. It was opposite of the plumage of smoke that was rising through the trees, so it must have been better.

"How far do we plan on walking?" Emberkit asked, not so quietly. Dawnkit flattened her ears, if Emberkit had such a problem then she could offer a better idea.

"I have no idea. Until we are safe." Dawnkit answered, shooting an annoyed glance back at the kit who was trailing right behind her.

"That's a terrible idea." Emberkit explained, holding her head up in defiance. "Just wandering around the forest in the dark, while there is a fire." She looked like she had a whole lot more to say, but she waited for Dawnkit to respond. As if she were waiting to shoot down her next explanation, or idea.

"Well then Emberkit, what's your idea?" Dawnkit turned back toward her, her tail lashing out behind her. "What should we have done? Stayed there? And inhale all that smoke, or even get found out. Or maybe we should have just stayed in the camp and let murders decide our fate."

"Our clan is not made of murders." Emberkit shot back, she had always been very attached to the clan.

"No? Then explain to me why everyone cheered while my mother was torn to pieces, while your mother was. Why nearly everyone participated in ripping four mothers apart, and why their leader led the battle. Dovestar killed my father for her position, it's not honorable at all, it's downright evil." Dawnkit snarled, she was done with all of Emberkit's snappish retorts.

"Dawnkit. Get off." Kestrelkit hissed, coming behind his sister and glaring at her. It hurt to see her best friend to come against her, but Dawnkit held her position.

"Well, if she is going to complain, at least have a better excuse than _I don't want_. How about some advice?" Dawnkit retorted, resisting the urge to keep walking away from Emberkit.

"What did I just say Dawnkit?" Kestrelkit growled, and finally Dawnkit backed down. She stepped back and shook her head. Why follow her if they didn't agree?

"She has a point though…" Ivykit's meek voice piped up through the tense silence that had ensued. "If you are going to complain Emberkit, please have something else to add. We are all under a lot of stress, and Dawnkit has been the one leading us from the beginning. If you would rather do it, I'm sure she would love a break." Dawnkit shot Ivykit a grateful glance, and relief exploded into her chest. At least she had back up. Emberkit nodded her head to them, but had nothing more to say.

Ignoring Kestrelkit's icy glance, Dawnkit turned around and continued leading. It was going to be a long walk out of the forest, but as long as they were alive Dawnkit didn't care how they felt.

They carried along through the brush till they met another river. This one was so much bigger than any of them had ever seen, or even imagined. It was about as wide as the entire camp and Dawnkit didn't want to imagine how deep, or cold, it was.

Right when they stopped though, Dawnkit didn't have a chance to evaluate the situation. Just as she looked around she spotted the dark outline of two cats treading up the river, right toward them.


	6. Chapter 6: Survivors

"R-Run." Dawnkit screeched, which sent all of the kits scrambling wildly. No one knew where to, or why, but it was a blind scare that sent everyone tripping over each other. They were all tired and hungry, so when it came time to bolt it lead to a colossal mess. Ivykit ran straight into the river, obviously not realizing that it had been there, or had underestimated its depth. Brindlekit managed to trip over Kestrelkit, and after twisting his leg into a painful position he laid on the ground whimpering. Lastly Emberkit slid into a puddle of mud that she sank into quickly.

It was apparent to Dawnkit that this was the end. It also occurred to her that she had promised herself that she would try her hardest to get all these kits out of danger, and she would try to her last breath. Because that's what being a good cat meant, it meant helping your friends.

Ivykit splashed to the surface, gasping for air, and that snapped Dawnkit right out of her daze. She crouched down, preparing herself for the water and jump. But before she could attempt a rescue, one of the mysterious cats jumped in after Ivykit and easily plucked her out of the water. It seemed the water had been rather deep, deeper than even Dawnkit had anticipated, because it seemed not even the large cat's feet reached the bottom.

The other cat made their way toward them and Dawnkit found herself at a loss on what to do. Her head was spinning, so she stood her ground and hissed at the intruder that was still on land. The cat came into light and Dawnkit saw an unfamiliar she-cat with a golden pelt, littered with black markings, and wide silver eyes.

"Sh-Sh… Sh. It's okay kittens, we are not here to hurt you." The unfamiliar she-cat meowed, taking a step back as Dawnkit hissed at her again. "We mean no harm."

"I goff her." The tom in the water shouted between Ivykit's fur. He climbed out and gently dropped her at the she-cat's feet, and shook himself off. Ivykit wasn't moving. Dawnkit started to panic.

"She isn't breathing, Waspfur." He explained quickly, and the golden she-cat set right to work. She flipped Ivykit over on her back and applied pressure to her chest with a single paw. It was a soothing circular motion, and then suddenly Ivykit coughed up two mouthfuls of water. She wheezed and coughed, curling up on her side in agony.

"It'll be easier if you roll and stand up little one." Waspfur murmured, her voice gentle and caring. Dawnkit was immediately untrusting of these two cats. After witnessing her entire clan pounce on the only family she'd ever known, Dawnkit was lacking in the area of trust.

"Kits, why are you so far away from your clan." The tom asked, watching them with a pair of burning gold eyes. Dawnkit didn't want to tell them. It might have been because she didn't trust them, but truly Dawnkit did not want to dig up the memories that had been burning in the back of her mind for hours. None of the other kits had any courage to say anything either. They were a group of misfits, beaten and broken. Their words were the only thing they had left to defend.

The dark tabby brown tom shuffled a bit, looking to Waspfur for help. She tilted her head toward the kits, urgency in her silver eyes.

"Okay. Let me introduce myself. I am Eaglestar, leader of… Once the leader of Creek Clan." He explained, a sadness entrenching his calm features. It was painful to see a cat that used to be leader look so weak and pitiful.

"Once?" Dawnkit asked boldly, trying to put the facts together. What if they were trying to lull them into safety before they brought them back to the clans to be slaughtered just like their parents?

"I told you about myself, go and tell me about yourself. It's only fair." He smiled, eying them all with a calm and unreadable gaze.

"Because Dovestar murdered our parents." Ivykit sputtered out, trembling against the guiding paws of Waspfur.

"It seems we are running from the same thing, little kits." Relief washed over his features and his shoulder sagged. "The clans have changed… And this is only the beginning…" Eaglestar's face remained mostly indifferent, except for the flash of confusion that was clear in is eyes. Maybe, Dawnkit realized, he was just like them. Lost and alone.

"What happened?" It wasn't a question, but a demand from Dawnkit. It was less because she didn't trust him, and more because she wanted to know. She wanted to know what these terrible cats had done to the clans, and why they had killed her mother. So many questions and so little time.

"This morning…" He started, looking over toward Waspfur weakly for support. They'd both had a rough day it seemed. "There was a rebellion in the midst of my clan, Creek clan. I can't believe I had not seen it before, it had been brewing under my nose for moons. Cats had been rallying against me, and I can't help by suspect it's because of Dovestar. I would have ended up just like Blazestar, if not for Waspfur."

"You didn't know." Waspfur's voice was stern, as if she were scolding a kit. "Barely anyone not a part of it did."

"But I should have." He combated her, tail lashing out behind him. "Th-There are so many cats that believe in Dovestar and her new motto. She believes that one should follow the warrior code, or they should die for their sins. It's as if she believes this is the way Star Clan would want the clans."

"Which is the farthest thing from the truth." Waspfur murmured bitterly under her breath. Eaglestar eyed Waspfur wearily, waiting for a moment before continuing.

"She also thought letting any cat with a lineage that strayed from pure blooded warrior was a crime. Which is ridiculous because all of our blood lines are mixed and disturbed. I don't know where she gets the idea that some are purer than others."

"What happened to your clan?" Dawnkit wanted to hear it from someone else's mouth. She wanted to hear that death wasn't just a fate picked for her mother.

"Perhaps that is not a story for kits." Waspfur butted into the conversation lightly, but Eaglestar shook his head.

"If they are running from their clan then perhaps they know more than words could ever share." Eaglestar looked directly down to Dawnkit, who was staring back at up at him with hungry eyes.

"They killed- Slaughtered all the cats who were _impure_. Elders, kits, queens, and even the medicine cat- my sister, was murdered." Eaglestar's voice was strained, and tears pricked against his soft sea blue eyes. His dark brown tabby coat glimmered under the shine of the moon, like a sad silhouette. "My mate was the head of this rebellion. Halerush… She was-" He stopped, his voice thick with rage and emotion. He began embedding his claws into the dirt under him, minding his fury.

Waspfur came over to his side gently, resting a tail against his shoulders. "I was the medicine cat of Whirl Clan." She explained quietly, voice shaking in the dark. "They had killed the medicine cat in Dusk clan too. I stumbled upon Vipertongue's corpse on the border while picking herbs. He was littered with the scent of both his clan, and mine. I'd known tension between the clans was high, but not enough for murder. Assuming it was a border skirmish I headed back to camp, not thinking it was a mutually planned attack…

"Then I stumbled upon a patrol, and they were intermingled with Dusk Clan cats. I knew something was wrong. They were all talking— _bragging_ about the death of a cat who once healed their wounds…" Waspfur's voice shook with a same simmering rage as Eaglestar, but hers was quiet, repressed. The quiet before a storm.

"They then talked about my death, and the death of Creek Clan. I ran there and found Eaglestar along the way, as he had been on a trip to the Moon Pool…"

As they had revealed their stories, Dawnkit felt as though it was only right for her to explain her own. But the strong, overwhelming scent of smoke poured into the clearing. Eaglestar lifted his head, and saw beyond the bushes they could not.

"We should go. The fire is stretching out this way with the wind, and if we don't hurry it could easily become a problem." Eaglestar murmured, stepping into the river at its edge.

"Where will we go?" Dawnkit asked, stepping cautiously to the river and motioning to the other kits to follow.

"We will go to a territory long forgotten now. Far out, past the Moon Pool, there is a place cats haven't stepped into in centuries." He explained taking Dawnkit by the scruff and wadding across the river, which didn't require him to swim, even though it had looked that way to Dawnkit.

"You mean the Clan of Lost Thorns?" Waspfur asked, cocking her head to the side. Her spring green eyes grew wide with surprise, but they were calculating.

"It was a tale amongst the creek clan elders. No one seemed to listen to them, except the kits of course. Our new enemy probably won't hear of them again, since all those who remember are all dead." Eaglestar explained as he wadded back across the river to carry across the next kit.

"Why should we trust them Dawnkit?" Emberkit suddenly shouted as Eaglestar made his way over to them. "Just because you trust complete strangers doesn't mean I will."

Eaglestar didn't say a word, and looked to Dawnkit for her response. He was waiting, watching to see how she would respond. Why should they trust them? Eaglestar wanted her answers as much as anyone else did.

First a feeling of anxiety washed over her. Why? Why was a good question. Dawnkit swallowed her doubt and held her head high as she shot back at Emberkit. "Because they are the only help we have right now. We don't have many options, and we don't have much time. But if they were trying to hurt us, wouldn't they have done it already? I'm going to trust them, because I cannot defend myself or hunt for myself. Not yet. If you want to say and wait for the fire though, then go right ahead."

Eaglestar's eyes crinkled in amusement and a light, bellowing purr erupted from his throat. It was raspy and sounded almost painful, between recent events and the fire, Dawnkit wasn't surprised. She supposed crying and smoke would do that to one's throat.

"A small little leader you seem to be." Eaglestar's words set her pelt aflame, and she ducked her head in embarrassment. But there was that little inkling of pride that slithered into her heart, and it brought up her spirits.

He turned back toward Emberkit, who was glancing hesitantly from Eaglestar and Waspfur. Kestrelkit stood behind her, eying them cautiously. Brindlekit rolled his eyes and stepped forward to be chosen, obviously annoyed with his litter mates.

Waspfur stepped forward, with Ivykit in her grasp, and looked down at the water. From the skittish tension in her body it was easy to tell she wasn't used to water. Perhaps she was even afraid of it. Eaglestar had padded across and turned around before she even dipped her toes into the water.

"Relax." He murmured calmly, wadding back across to her side. Helping Waspfur also gave Emberkit and Kestrelkit a bit more time to settle their fear of getting carried across the river, Dawnkit realized. She found that she liked this tom more and more, especially with the patience he was presenting with Waspfur. Even with fire looming their way he still found time to be calm.

"Let the water sooth you, not scare you. Your body and fur will help you float, and you won't need to swim much to get across. It's not very deep." He murmured quietly, keeping the tip of his tail at her side as comfort.

She released a deep breath, and then began to walk her way across. Her movements were stiff and her eyes were wide, but she managed to make it across with Eaglestar beside her the entire way.

"Okay you two, so have you made up your minds?" Eaglestar turned back to Kestrelkit and Emberkit, cocking a brow. Emberkit, who's head was all raised with authority, because now she had finally been able to make an independent decision on something, nodded.

"Yes, we would like to cross." She stated, allowing Eaglestar to pick her up by the scruff. "Hey! Not so hard." She wailed, her feet kicking out unceremoniously. A low chuckle erupted from Eaglestar again.

After all kits had crossed the river, they climbed up the beach and to the slope that over looked plenty of the forest. Dawnkit stopped a moment, getting absorbed in the beauty of the forest decorated by moonlight. The fire shined bright through the shadows, it's path of destruction clear.

"Come on kits. It won't take long before it reaches the river, and even then… I don't know if it'll be enough to hold it back." Dawnkit watched the fire, hatred and fury building in her heart. And in that moment she wished the fire destroyed the entire forest, just like Dovestar had done to her mother.


End file.
